Another Take
by LornaGnat
Summary: Another story exploring what could happen after the If/Then episode (8x13). Callie and Owen are married, but Callie is having feelings she can't deal with yet. Her sister tries to knock some sense into her, but can even she help Callie Torres see what's right in front of her face? (Callie/Arizona endgame, slow burn)
1. Chapter 1

"I will not have this fight with you again, Callie!"

"Then stop _starting_ this fight, Owen! It is not my fault!"

An abrupt knock on the door stopped the married couple in their tracks. After a moment of staring at each other and breathing hard, Callie finally broke eye contact and stalked over to the door, flinging it open. "What?"

Callie's sister stood on the front porch with a disappointed look on her face. "Give me your children right now or stop fighting."

Callie took a deep breath and glanced back at Owen before asking Aria again, "What?"

"I got a message from your daughter…remember her?...telling me 'Mami and Daddy are fighting in the kitchen.' So either stop scaring my godbaby, or give me your children so I can take them to the park."

"How did Allegra send you a message?"

"You leave your stuff all over the place, Cal. You never change. My guess? She grabbed your phone"

"She's seven, Aria. She doesn't know how to text. Just get out of my house," Owen interjected.

"I'm on the porch, genius, not _in_ your house. And three year olds can text now, Owen. Spend some more time with your own kid and you'd know she can too. Am I taking them or will you two cut it out?"

Just then, a little body came flying down the hallway, "Tia 'Ria! Tia 'Ria!"

"Hey, Lil'Bear!" Aria scooped the girl up into her arms and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "Ugh, when did you get so big? How old are you know, 25?"

The girl giggled and buried her face in her Aunt's neck.

"27? 29?"

Allegra Hunt shook her head violently.

"Well, I know you're not 30 already."

"I'm seven, Tia 'Ria!"

A shrill beeping broke the tenuous feeling of happiness that had permeated the room as all three adults looked down at their hips.

Owen sighed heavily and glared at his wife's little sister. "Looks like you don't have to kidnap anyone today, Aria. I'm leaving." He turned to Callie, "I'll be back when I can."

"We'll talk later." Callie glanced at her sister and caught her pointed look. "Quietly. And calmly. Go save lives."

"'Bye Munchkin," he called to his daughter as he flew out the door.

Callie let out an exasperated sigh, "I know you don't like him, but do you need to provoke him like that?"

Completely ignoring her sister, Aria spoke to the little girl squirming in her arms, "Where are your brothers, Lil'Bear?"

"They're napping. Babies have to have nap time, but I'm a big girl, so I get to play." She looked shyly over at her mother, "Right, Mami?"

"You're absolutely right, mija. Why don't you go play for a bit and then you can show Tia 'Ria your new toys?"

The little girl squirmed out of her Aunt's grasp and ran off to her room, intent on getting back to her very involved game of Barbie.

Aria and Callie shared a long look before Aria raised a judgmental eyebrow in her sister's direction.

"Just don't, Aria. I don't want to hear it right now."

"Uh-huh."

"We're going to be absorbing Seattle Pres."

"Nice subject change. And bull. Where did you hear that?"

Callie made her way to the kitchen table and sat down with a huff. "Staff meeting with the Chief. It's happening."

Aria rolled her eyes and dropped into the seat across from her sister, burying her head in her hands. "Well, dammit. I don't want to work at Seattle Grace."

"Language! There are small ears around here."

Aria waved her hand in dismissal. "No worse than they hear when you and their father are at each other's throats, I'm sure. I really don't want to come work at Seattle Grace, Cal."

"We're the best hospital in the country. What in the world could you possibly complain about?"

"From everything I hear, it's not fun. Seattle Pres might be #12 in the country right now to your #1, but we're like a family. We have each other's backs, we're in each other's business. We've mostly all slept together. And I'm sorry, but another drawback to Seattle Grace is that you're there, Cal. Frankly, I don't really want to work in the same hospital as you."

"Look, sis, I know it might be intimidating with me being the head of cardio…"

"Intimidating?! Please, pretty please, Cit, tell me you're kidding me. Tell me your head has not gotten that big. Tell me that you are still the same sister I know and love and you don't really think this has anything to do with your beloved position at that place."

Callie was silent for a while before softly breaking the silence. "You haven't called me Cit in ages."

Aria shrugged noncommittally. "Well, we might not be as close as we once were, but we're still Cit Cat. As silly and stupid as those nicknames were. I have fond memories. You're my…my big sister, Cal, and I love you."

"But you don't want to work at the same hospital as me?"

"Do you even need an Ortho Resident?"

It was Callie's turn to roll her eyes. "I don't know why you're wasting your time and talent in Orthopedics, Aria. You're so much better than carpentry."

"I swear to god, Cal, do not get into this with me again. You know I hate it when your chief comes out of your mouth. And you were just as interested in Orthopedics as I was until your beloved Chief Webber pushed you into Cardio. My specialty is just as important as yours and just as impressive. I am working with a group of people who are trying to make cartilage from scratch. Scratch, Callie. You can't tell me that's not impressive."

"Exactly. You're trying. What do you have now, soup?"

"I'm going to ignore that."

"I just don't understand why working at a number 12 hospital is a good thing, especially when it sounds more like a frat house than a place of business."

Aria cocked her head to the side and appraised her sister. "You used to be fun. What happened, Cal?"

"I'm a mother now. I know I work a lot and I might not be the best mom, but…"

"Hey! No. I am stopping you right there. You are the most amazing mother. Hell, you practically had to raise me, so I know first-hand. I never, ever want to hear you doubting how amazing you are with those kids."

"I didn't raise you, Cat. You were just a new babydoll for me to play with. Mom and Dad raised you."

"You can keep saying that and pretending it's true, but we both know it's not." Aria narrowed her eyes at her sister. "How are things going with Owen?"

"We're good. You know, I think we're really working past everything that's been going on and…"

"Please, Cal. Don't lie to me."

A flash of panic crossed behind Callie's eyes. "I don't know wha—"

"Come on, this is me. You can talk to me. We're family; I will always be on your side."

Callie let out a harsh breath. "It's hard. It's so, so hard, Ar. I don't know what to do."

Aria looked at her big sister sympathetically. "What is going on?"

Sitting there for moments with her mouth open, Callie finally tried to explain herself to her sister, "I can't get…There's a…Life is hard, Aria. That's just a fact. And you have to barrel through it sometimes even when it's hard."

"You think I don't know that? You think I just floated through life, Cal?" She barreled on before her sister could cut her off, "—No! You always seem to forget that you and I did not have the same childhood, Callie! You are a Torres, and you were raised as a Torres. I am not a Torres. I was a black sheep before I was born. Mom was ashamed of me and Dad didn't want anything to do with me. I know life is hard; don't talk down to me when I'm doing nothing but trying to help you!"

"Keep your voice down, Aria, please. The boys are sleeping." Both women took a deep breath. "You don't know that you're not a Torres, Cat. Those were all rumors and we don't know."

Aria looked away and shook her head. "We know."

"Wha—"

"DNA test. I did it last time I was home visiting."

"And?"

"And I am the bastard child of an affair Mom had with the Italian pool boy. You and our cousins always made fun of me for not having the family's Latin dancing skills." Aria looked thoughtful for a moment. "And I always have had an unhealthy love of chicken piccata."

"This is not funny, Aria! Why didn't you tell me?"

Aria leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest, protectively. "I thought Dad would. I kept expecting you to call and tell me not to come over anymore."

Callie leaned across the table and pulled one of Aria's arms so that she could hold her hand. "Why would I do that?"

"When did you last talk to dad?"

Callie thought for a moment. "I don't remember. A month or two? Maybe? Things have been crazy, between Owen and the kids and work. I've been kind of swamped."

"He cut me off, Cal. He doesn't 'recognize me as a Torres' any longer. He took away my trust fund, which, granted, was given to me very grudgingly in the first place…"

"He can't do that!"

"I'm not his child, Callie. Why can't he?"

The two sisters sat in silence for a moment, just looking at each other. "Aria, we've gone this many years not knowing. Why did you do it? And why did you tell him?"

"I had to know, Callie. It was killing me. I know you don't like to talk about it, so I didn't tell you how it was tearing me up inside. I had to know. And I had to tell dad. I…I don't know why, really, but I thought he should know. I don't know if he's told Mom, I don't know what's going on there. I haven't spoken to them since he cut me off."

Callie took a deep breath and let it out slowly while Aria just looked at her big sister, and ultimate role model, apprehensively.

"Do you want me to leave, Callie? I'll…understand. I can find a job somewhere else; I don't need to be absorbed into Seattle Grace. I'm sorry; I should have told you when I found out. I haven't been lying to you, exactly, but I wanted to keep a part of my family if I could. And you're my sister. Well, half-sister, I guess, but it doesn't matter to me. If it matters to you, I completely understand though, and I'll leave. You know what? I should just go. This was a lot to dump on you and I was supposed to be here to talk about you and make you feel better and…"

"Stop, Cat! Okay, you might not technically be a Torres, but you definitely got the rambling gene. You sound like my daughter when I catch her in a lie."

A small smile spread across Aria's face.

"You, Cassandra Ariadne Torres, are my sister. I have been your big sister since I was 10 years old and a DNA test is not going to change that. I took care of you. I changed your diapers. I helped you study for Med School. Hell, I'm the reason you got saddled with being called Aria instead of a normal person's name."

Chuckling, Aria took her hand away from her sister's grasp, "Yes. And I'm never going to forgive you for that. Just because you got stuck with Calliope did not mean that you had to insist people go with Ariadne for me. I would have been perfectly happy going through life as Cassie."

"Then we would have been Callie and Cassie."

Thinking for a moment, Aria scrunched up her nose. "Ew. You're right. Aria's way better. So…sisters?"

"Sisters. And nothing will change that."

Aria wiped away a stray tear that had made its way down her cheek. "Good." She took a deep breath. "Then we can move on and talk about you again. You are a pro at changing the subject, Callie Torres. Stop it." She looked across the table with pleading eyes. "Talk to me."

After a full two minutes of silence, Aria spoke up again.

"I will literally sit here, stare at you, and not say a thing until you talk to me, Cit."

Two more minutes went by before Callie finally spoke up. "I can't get the head of Pediatrics off my mind."

Aria shifted in her seat and nodded her head. "Head of Peds, huh?"

"Forget I said anything." Callie got out of her chair like a shot and moved into the kitchen, "Do you want some coffee?"

"Stop changing the subject. Let me think, Head of Peds at Seattle Grace is Robbins, right? Dr. Robbins?"

Callie was looking anywhere but at her sister. "Right. Dr. Robbins."

Aria let a small smirk cross her face. "Are you forgetting that my best friend is a Peds enthusiast, Cal? We are, of course talking about a Dr. ARIZONA Robbins, are we not? Blonde, blue eyed, dimpled, _female_ Head of Peds?"

"Uh, no." Callie let out a small chuckle. "No. Of course not. That's ridiculous. I misspoke."

"Sure you did."

"I did!"

"Of course. So when I said, 'Dr. Robbins?' and you said, 'Right. Dr. Robbins,' that was…what?"

"That was me…misspeaking. I'm working on a case with her. Well, not with her, as such. I took a case from her and she's fighting me on it, so she was on my mind. And I misspoke."

Slowly, Aria got up from her chair and approached her rapidly panicking sister. "Cal, calm down. You wouldn't be the first Torres or…Half-Torres, I guess…to, how should I put this? Test the Sapphic waters."

Callie looked at her sister like she had grown two heads. "What are you talking about? I'm not…! Wait, are you…? Have you…?"

Aria rested a hand on Callie's arm. "I've dated girls. It's not a big deal."

"No big deal?" Callie let out a braying laugh. "I don't want you bringing that around my children, Aria! We are raising them with Faith and I…"

Holding her hands up in a sign of surrender, Aria backed up a few steps. "Whoa! What are you talking about? First of all, I'm not _bringing it around your children_ , Calliope. You just found out about it yourself! And secondly, you are not a homophobe, so why are you talking like one?"

"I don't understand."

"I have dated a girl or two in my time. I fall for someone based on personality, not really by gender. Mostly, I've dated men. But not always."

Callie looked absolutely flabbergasted. "But why didn't you tell me?"

"Cal, when is the last time I talked to you about someone I was dating, male or female? If I meet someone special enough to bring home, I will tell you about them gladly. But I haven't met them yet. And we're supposed to be talking about you!"

"No, this thing with the Head of Peds…"

"Dr. Robbins. You can say her name."

"It's not like that!"

"Callie." Aria grabbed her sister by the shoulders and turned her to face her head on. "You're married."

"No, Aria, the big thing is that she is a woman! And yet…I can't…I can't stop thinking about…"

"Callie. The big thing is not that she's a woman. That doesn't matter. What matters is that you are married. You have kids. I know you won't come out and say it, not to me, not to anyone, but you and Owen are…having troubles. It's not my place to say anything more than that. But know this: your feelings are not bad. They're not evil. But you are married."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you everyone for the favorites, follows, and reviews! You all made me smile very big. I don't own any of these characters; they all belong to Shonda. I'm just playing.**

* * *

A few days later, Callie was standing at the nurses' station completing her last chart of the day when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Assuming it was the daycare—the twins had been extremely fussy that morning—she was very surprised to see her father's name pop up on the display.

"Hi, dad."

"Hola, mija!" came through the phone, loud and clear. "I'm so happy to finally get you. We've been playing phone tag for weeks!"

"Things have been crazy. How are you? What's new?"

The line went silent before she heard her father take a deep breath. "Have you talked to Aria lately?"

"I—Yes."

"Did she tell you?"

"She did."

"I hope we're on the same page, mija."

After a brief pause, Callie spoke with measured words. "I'm not so sure we are, dad. I don't want to step on any toes, but Aria is my sister. I don't quite understand what you're doing."

Carlos sighed through the phone. "It's been many years of struggle with this decision, mija. Years of living with it and now, by her own hand, we have proof. The girl is not my daughter, Calliope." She could hear the steel in her father's voice.

"She's family, dad. I'm sorry. I'm _really_ sorry; I can't even imagine what you're going through. How hard this must be for you and mom to deal with—" Callie's eyes tracked her husband walking down the hallway talking in hushed tones with, of all people, Christina Yang before continuing, "the, um, the infidelity…but Aria's really upset. She's hurting and confused but we're her family. I don't think some DNA can change that."

"I've known of your mother's indiscretion. That's not the point."

Callie was flabbergasted. "You…you _knew?_ "

"She is my wife. We made vows in front of God. We've prayed and worked through it. I never wanted to know, sweetheart. Living with her in my house was reminder enough when I didn't know. But your sis—Aria decided she needed to know and she told me. I had no other choice."

"Dad—I—"

"I will not be changing my mind. _This_ is not a conversation I'm going to have, Calliope. Aria Torres is not my daughter. Once you can accept that fact, I will welcome another call from you. This is my decision." Callie stared at the phone in her hand with her brow furrowed as her own father hung up on her. She felt her face crumple and tried to breathe through the tears that were starting to prick at her eyes when she felt a hand on her elbow guiding her into the closest on-call room.

She stood there with her back to the door and covered her eyes with her hands, forcing her composure, swallowing the hurt and confusion before squaring her shoulders and turning around, very surprised to see Arizona Robbins standing against the closed door looking at her wearing a concerned expression.

"Oh, uh, Dr. Robbins…hello."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Torres. You looked like you needed a minute and there were a lot of people around. I assumed you'd want some privacy."

"No, no, you're right. And please, call me Callie." She took a deep breath. "Thank you. I _did_ need a moment. It's just…family issues."

Arizona offered a small smile and took a small step towards the other woman. "You know, I'm actually an excellent friend. We didn't get off on the best foot, you and I, but I'm a really good friend and I can listen. Just…if you want to talk about it, I'm here. I'm an option. I'm from a military family, so I get it. I've seen it. I know how hard it can be."

Callie let out a little confused laugh, "Military family?"

"My father was a Colonel in the US Marine Corps. Retired. My brother enlisted as soon as he was old enough and just came back from his last tour in January. So I've seen people who've come back. I've lived with people who are haunted…like that. So I get it. Just…if you need someone to talk to, I'm here. That's all."

"Oh, you mean…Owen?"

Arizona's eyes opened a little wider and she shook her head, "Is it…not? I just heard what happened yesterday with the window and I thought…sorry! 'Family issues' is a broad topic and I just assumed. For all I know, one of your kids broke the heel on your favorite shoes. That was…" She took a deep, flustered breath. "I'm sorry."

Slowly, Callie lowered herself to sit on the bed in the room and let out a deep sigh. "Window?"

"He punched a window yesterday…broke the glass. I thought you knew." Tentatively, Arizona sat next to the brunette and put a comforting hand on her back.

Letting out a humorless laugh, Callie dropped her head into her hands. "I never know. The wife is the last to know. Isn't that what they say?"

"Callie—I don't—"

Brushing Arizona's hand away and standing up hastily, Callie paced the floor while muttering in Spanish under her breath. Finally, she turned to the other person in the room. "It's fine. Thank you. Thank you for giving me privacy when I needed it and thank you for letting me know about Owen."

Looking at Callie apprehensively, Arizona spoke, "Maybe I shouldn't have. I was out of line. What happens in your marriage—"

Callie cut her off abruptly. "No. I'm fine, and thank you again, but I have to go now."

Callie made her way to the door and opened it just as Arizona spoke up, "Wait! We still…we need to get that drink sometime. To celebrate. May I…hold you to that?" She flashed a bright smile at the other woman and held her breath in anticipation. The air in the room seemed to tremble.

Eyes roaming over the blonde's face, Callie finally smiled back, "Yes. Definitely. I'll, uh, I'll let you know when, okay? Soon."

Arizona popped a dimple and smiled even wider. "Soon."

With a last nod of her head, Callie left the room, closing the door behind her and fortifying herself when Owen came up to her.

"Hey, hun. I hate to do this to you, but a big trauma just came into the pit. I'm on call, so I'm staying. Can you handle the kids tonight?"

Callie narrowed her eyes at him and glanced down at his still-bandaged hand. "You can't operate like that."

"No, but they need me here to coordinate and give orders. You'll be okay, right? I'll probably just crash here tonight."

"Owen, about your hand—" before she could continue, Owen's pager went off and he shot her an apologetic look before giving her a peck on the lips and running off down the hallway. Callie heard the door behind her open and immediately stuffed her hands in her pockets and walked away, not ready to be so close to Arizona Robbins again.

She didn't stop until she reached the daycare and spent ten minutes just holding her children and breathing in their scent before taking them home for the night.

* * *

"What do I think I'm doing?!" Arizona blew into the office of Cynthia Rogers, her closest friend at Seattle Grace and Ortho Attending.

"Bugging me while I'm trying to get my budget done?"

Arizona flopped into the chair on the opposite side of her friend's desk. "I'm pining after a straight, married woman is what I'm doing."

Cynthia banged her head on the desk before looking back up at Arizona. "Dr. Torres? Still?"

"I tried! You know I did! I went out with other women, I did the crazy party girl thing, I even slept with _you_! But then I see her almost breaking down at the nurses' station and pull her into an on-call room..."

Raising her eyebrows until they practically touched her hairline, Cynthia gaped at her friend, "On-call room? With Dr. Torres?"

"Not like that! Just…shut up and listen." Arizona leaned forward, imploring her friend to understand. "She's breathtaking. And then that stupid artificial lung wasn't supposed to work. She was supposed to be this beautiful, miraculous cardio surgeon who stole my patient and was a huge pain in the ass. But then it worked. The kid is doing amazingly well. Just…amazingly. He's off the transplant list. Completely off it. She's brilliant too! Brilliant and beautiful and she was about to break down in the middle of a busy hallway, so I let her have her privacy to work through it."

"So you let her have privacy…by staying in the room with her?"

Groaning, Arizona flopped back in the chair. "I'm a menace. Don't let me out anymore." She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. "I told her about Owen punching the window. I thought she was upset about that and I rambled about my military family but it turns out she had no idea."

"Come on, Zone. If you hadn't told her, she would have found out. Lots of people saw it happen."

Arizona sighed and nodded. "You're right. Anyway, new topic."

"I heard rumors that we're going to absorb Seattle Pres. Know anything about that, Department Head?"

"The numbers look good. Why do you care? You're safe."

Cynthia played with her pen, "I hope it happens. They're doing some amazing work with orthopedics over there. I'd love to be in on it."

Narrowing her eyes, Arizona scooted to the front of her chair. "You have the hots for one of the doctors there, don't you?"

"A whole bunch of them! I went there for a consult a few months ago and they just have some of the most attractive orthopods I've ever seen in my entire life. We're a specialty run by graying old men, it's exciting!"

Arizona laughed, "You never change, Cyn."

"You don't either, Zone." Cynthia narrowed her eyes at the fidgeting blonde. "She's married. You're not a home wrecker. She's got a lot of shit to wade through before she gets to you, _if ever_. Remember that."

"And you'll be here for me?"

"Until I'm swept up into a story book romance by a Seattle Pres surgeon, I'll be right here for you."

Arizona picked up a crumpled sheet of paper and threw it at her friend before leaving the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: They still all belong to Shonda. Question-Did the twins in the If/Then episode have names? I want to call them Gus and Gavin, but I feel like that's from a fanfic and not actually stated in the show. Anyone know for sure?**

 **Also, thanks again for the reviews, favorites, and follows!**

* * *

It was nine o'clock at night and Callie Torres had just gotten her daughter, Allegra, to sleep. She peeked her head into the twins' room and smiled softly at the sight of them, both sprawled on their stomachs, arms and legs akimbo, and breathing deeply. After a moment, she quietly shut the door and made her way downstairs to flop on the sofa to ruminate, a popular pastime for her these days.

She loved her children. Nothing in the world made her happier than being Mommy to those three rambunctious kids upstairs. It was her dream since she was a little girl, before she was dreaming about weddings, before she wanted a big house, before her medical degree, she wanted to be a mom. Surely being ten years older than her sister had something to do with it. She had a real-life baby doll at just the right age for her to really take care of it. Nanny Rosa loved spending time showing the girl how to change diapers, feed the new baby, and how to play safely. Aria was right—Carlos and Lucia didn't raise Aria, or Callie for that matter. But nevertheless, Callie had the mommy gene deeply embedded in her from a very early age.

She thought of herself at a young age, remembered the dreams she finally wound up jotting down in her college journal after a deep discussion with her roommates one night. First, she wanted children. Then she wanted her medical degree. Next she wanted to be a surgeon. And she wanted to be madly in love.

Well, three out of four isn't bad, right?

An abrupt knock on the door shook Callie from her musings and she hurried to the door before the person on the other side could knock again and wake up the kids. As the door swung open, a very pregnant Addison Forbes Montgomery-Shepherd was revealed holding up a bottle of wine.

"Addison?"

"I'm sick of this. I'm sick of pretending everything is okay and I need a real conversation. I think you do too. What do you say, do you want to drink this wine and tell each other secrets?"

Open-mouthed, Callie glanced at the label on the wine and raised her eyebrows at how much that must have cost the other doctor. "Addison. You're pregnant."

"That's why _you're_ going to drink this and _I'm_ going to live vicariously through you. I've got juice in my purse for me." Addison stood on the porch for a few more seconds before her face fell and Callie could see sincere desperation in her eyes. "Please."

Callie stepped to the side and gestured for Addison to come in. "Of course. Come in, please. I'll…get us glasses. Make yourself comfortable in the living room."

Walking into the kitchen, Callie thought about how unexpected her life had become in the last few days. Like everything was just ever so slightly…off in the world and the universe was just trying to correct itself. She grabbed two wine glasses and made her way back into the living room where Addison was standing, looking at the line of photos Callie kept on the fireplace mantle.

"You've got a wonderful home, Callie. I've never been here before. It's beautiful."

"Thank you. I guess we're all a little too busy to host dinner parties at Seattle Grace, aren't we?"

Addison let out a humorless laugh and picked up the latest Torres/Hunt family photo. In it, Callie was holding one of the boys while Owen was holding the other. Allegra was standing between her parents with the brightest smile. The twins were both scowling and it almost looked like Callie and Owen were too. "Good looking family."

"Again, thank you." Callie put the glasses down and opened the bottle of wine. She noticed that Addison did, in fact, bring her own juice and poured them both a drink before handing Addison her glass. "Is everything okay?"

"Tell me a secret." Addison sat down on the sofa and, with some trouble, pulled her feet up underneath her. "I have a secret that I need to tell a friend and I feel like you and I should be friends. I think we're close to being friends—as close as people can get to being friends under the tyrannical eye of Ellis Grey. So I need you to tell me a secret first. Even the playing field."

Unbidden, Arizona's smile popped into Callie's head before she tamped it down and chose a safer topic. "I found out this week that my sister isn't actually my sister. My mom cheated on my dad and Aria is the result. My dad knew about the cheating for years, but only just recently had it confirmed that Aria isn't his flesh and blood so he cut her off. That's…that's my secret."

Addison made a sound that was slightly disapproving. "I was hoping for something juicier."

Callie took a deep breath and sat in the chair opposite Addison. "My husband punched a window and lied to me about it. I had to hear about it from Dr. Robbins. He's not getting better. But that's two secrets, so you either need to pony up or yours better be a doozy."

"This baby isn't my husband's."

Callie gasped and her eyes drifted to Addison's stomach. "So…my first secret hit a little close to home?"

Her mouth curling into a half smile, Addison answered, "Well, I told my husband. Today. He's aware of it all. The cheating and the fact that it's definitely not his kid."

"Who-? Well. Are we close enough friends that I can ask who _is_ the father?"

"Who's your sister's father?"

"Pool boy," Callie answered.

"Derek's best friend."

"Ouch."

"He showed up today from New York. Apparently he almost hit some junkie in the street who was passed out, so he carried her into the hospital looking like some…just some Greek God with blood all over his shirt because he saved her life. Like that's supposed to be impressive."

"To be fair, we all save lives. It's less _impressive_ and more a fact of life."

"Exactly! But…he came here for me. To, I don't know, chase me or whatever." Addison raised her glass to her lips and downed her juice in one gulp before looking longingly at Callie's glass. "Juice just doesn't have the same kick. Could you drink that, please?"

Smiling softly at her new friend, Callie tipped the glass back and took a generous sip. "I've still got the kids upstairs. I can't get too far gone."

"I'm here. I need the practice anyway. No matter what, this little one is coming out soon, right? No matter how prepared I am."

Weighing the other woman's words, Callie finished off her wine and poured them both another large glass of their respective drinks. "That's the thing about kids. They're always there. And before you have them it sounds like a bad thing. Like it's going to be crazy and horrible and insane all the time, but it's not. They're a constant. They're always there and they always need you. You can't get too wrapped up in your own stuff because there are these little people who depend on you each and every day. They don't care that Daddy's sick or that Mommy needs time to figure her shit out, they still need you. I'm not saying this right. But they're great, kids. You're going to love it."

Addison took another sip from her glass. "And what shit does Mommy need time to figure out?"

"Oh, no!" Callie laughed, eyes wide. "We're talking about you. Tell me more about this baby daddy. Did you love him? Do you love him?"

"A glass and a half of wine and our friendship seems to have moved at accelerated speeds, Torres!"

Grimacing, Callie took another sip of wine. "Too soon? Too personal?"

Addison sighed deeply and put her feet up on the coffee table. "No, I guess I need to talk about it. Mark and Derek and I…we were all best friends back in New York before we moved out here. Derek and I left Mark behind. Derek doesn't know that I had to get away from him. That I pursued the job here in Seattle because things with Mark were getting to be too…big, too much. Mark loved me and I was married. Not happily, but I did take vows. So I got us out and I hoped Seattle would be a fresh start. But Derek just got further and further away every day. He didn't fight for me or pay me any more attention here than he did in New York."

"And today…Mark shows up?"

"And today, Mark shows up. It was super awkward, the three of us in the room, but I said it. I let out the truth and it felt…" Addison trailed off.

"What? It felt…what?"

"Really freaking good. I feel terrible saying that. It shouldn't feel good. The end of my marriage…feels good?"

"Is it really over?"

Addison's head fell back against the back of the couch. "I don't know. I don't know how we can keep going like this."

The two women sat in silence, sipping their drinks before Callie finally broke the quiet.

"I don't believe in cheating. I never have. I was raised Catholic and they're pretty strict about…well, everything, but that especially. I always saw it as a deal-breaker. A 100%, no going back, end-of-the-line deal breaker."

"I feel like there's more to that thought."

"My mom cheated on my dad and they're still together. The ultimate betrayal and they prayed their way past it. Is that what you're supposed to do? Pray until it's okay? Pray until you don't care? What if you don't really feel like you care in the first place? Then what? What does that mean?"

Regarding her new friend, Addison poured some more wine in Callie's glass. "What are you—"

"You think I don't hear the whispers? I'm not deaf. Our nurses gossip like it's half their job. Owen going off with Christina Yang, talking to her secretly, spending time together." She looked up and stared straight at Addison. "I don't care. It doesn't hurt. What does that mean?"

Quickly putting down her glass, Addison leveraged herself off the couch and stood next to Callie awkwardly, placing a hand on her shoulder and kneeling at her side. "It means whatever it means. But you should talk to him. Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to get to where I am. Or where your parents are."

Callie glanced at her friend and shook her head. "If Mom didn't have an affair, I wouldn't have my sister. If my parents had divorced, I probably wouldn't even know Aria today. You're supposed to stay."

"Honey. Listen. No one should be miserable. Derek and I? We are miserable. You know what the residents call him?"

"McDreary."

"That's right. And that breaks my heart. Not for my husband, but for another person to be that miserable. _No one_ deserves to be unhappy. Okay? You and me? We're amazing women. We are smart and sophisticated and successful."

"We're hot."

"We're very hot," Addison agreed. "And we deserve happiness too, I think. No matter where we find it."

"You're thinking about Mark, aren't you?" Callie asked quietly.

After a brief pause, Addison answered on a breath, "Yeah, I am. Are you thinking about Owen?"

Callie closed her eyes and pictured happiness and saw only her kids. And the outline of a smiling, blond, pediatric surgeon, much to her chagrin. She shook her head and opened her eyes finally admitting out loud, "No."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I don't own any of it. They all belong to Shonda.**

 **Sorry it's a short one today. The next update should come soon.**

* * *

"Aria Torr—"

Callie barely waited for her sister to answer the phone before she started speaking. "I need you to take the kids tonight. Are you free?"

"Uh, yeah. I can do that. Is it date night? On a Thursday?"

Callie sighed and debated, for the tenth time that day, if this was a good idea. "No, not date night. Owen and I need to talk. And I'm going to…I'm going to make sure that happens tonight."

"And you don't want little ears to hear the yelling?"

"I don't know, Aria. I'm not planning for yelling, but it's a very real possibility."

Aria could hear the catch in her sister's voice through the phone. "Cal? Do you need to talk? Want to grab a drink before I come get the kids?"

Suddenly, Callie sees a head of blond hair bop past her office before doubling back and knocking on the doorframe. "Actually, Aria," Callie held up one finger to the Pediatric surgeon and tried to wrap up her phone call. "I've got another offer. Come by around 6? I'll feed them before you get there."

"Okay. But I'll have my phone on me all day. You need me, you call."

"Got it. I've got to go, someone just stopped by."

As Callie took the phone from her ear and hit the 'End Call' button, she could hear her sister yelling, "Is it Doctor Robbins?!"

Callie stood up and shot Arizona an embarrassed smile, but the other doctor didn't seem to notice anything amiss. "Dr. Robbins. To what do I owe this surprise visit?

"Hey, Dr. Torres. I've got a case coming in tomorrow morning that I could use a consult on. Think you could fit me and my kid in?"

"I've told you—it's Callie."

"Callie." Arizona shot the other woman her biggest smile. "Then you should probably be calling me Arizona. Anyway, my kid?" She held out a chart to Callie, tempting her. "It's a really cool case."

Smiling, Callie grabbed the chart and flipped it open, glancing at the chart without really reading it. "Sure. Uh, Dr.—Arizona. Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Um. Oh, come in. Please, come in." Callie gestured into her office and let the other woman brush past her before Callie closed the door and turned to Arizona, who was now sitting across from Callie's desk.

"What's up?"

Slowly, Callie walked over between her desk and the other doctor before leaning back against the desk. "You offered me friendship the other day. Is that—? Would you—? Shit." Callie hung her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Arizona shot out of her seat and put a hand on the other woman's arm. "Hey. Look at me." She waited until she could see Callie's deep brown eyes before smiling encouragingly. "My offer still stands. Absolutely. I think we'd be good friends, so let's skip over the silly uncertain phase and just…be friends. Talk to me."

"I've made more friends in the last two days in the exact same way…" Callie muttered under her breath. She glanced at Arizona and then dropped her eyes to the floor. "You said that you've lived with PTSD. You know what it's like." She felt the other woman squeeze her arm where her hand was still resting. "What…what did it look like? What was it for your family?"

The Pediatric surgeon took a deep breath before she started talking. "The important thing is that everyone is okay. We're a strong family, but everyone got the help they needed. My dad and my brother both saw war. They had friends die, some right in front of them. They were changed. Dad was quiet when he was home. Stoic and steady. He never let us see the trauma. My brother, though…he came home and stayed with me. I was a fifth year resident and he needed—god, he was bad. He almost didn't make it home. His Humvee was attacked and no one else made it out alive. The guilt that he lived with and the scars—physical and mental—were terrible. He would rage and scream and cry. I was scared to leave for work because I didn't know what would happen to him while I was gone." She let herself take a breath to regroup, pulling back from her memories. "It was really hard. And very scary. That's what it looked like."

"And now?" The taller doctor finally let her eyes meet Arizona's.

"He got help. He went to some support groups and individual therapy. He's living on his own and he's volunteering for some veteran organizations."

"He sounds pretty great."

Arizona couldn't help the smile that lit up her face. She'd always been _so proud_ of her brother, even during the worst of his PTSD. "He is." She leaned against the desk next to the other woman and bumped her with her shoulder. "You're my friend now. Maybe you'll get to meet him."

Callie found that she couldn't help but smile when the other woman did. "Did you…" she trailed off, smile fading.

"You can ask me anything."

"Did you ever wish he was gone? Not..dead or anything. Just not around?"

"He's my brother, so it's not like I had much of a choice. He'd always be family. But sure, I thought about it."

"What stopped you from kicking him out?"

Slowly, Arizona stepped in front of the taller doctor and looked up into her eyes. "We're not really talking about me and my brother here. This is the tough-love part of our friendship, okay?" She waited for the barely imperceptible nod before she continued. "I didn't have kids to worry about. I didn't have my own safety to worry about. He wasn't a doctor working in a large hospital. I also never had to worry about what it meant if he was finding comfort in someone other than me."

Callie hastily wiped a tear making its way down her cheek. "Addison asked me what I pictured when I pictured being happy."

Nodding, Arizona urged her to continue. "And?"

"And he wasn't there." Callie could hear Arizona blow out a breath. "Yeah. Heavy stuff. I bet this isn't what you expected when you offered me friendship."

"I'll take the good with the hard. You're worth it."

Callie looked up surprised and saw the other woman sending her an almost flirty smile.

"You're amazing." The two woman locked eyes and there was a moment of electricity before a piercing noise rang through the room.

Callie glanced down at her hip and saw that she was being paged to the pit. "It's mine. I have to go. Thank you for this. It was invaluable."

"Anytime, Calliope. I mean that. Come find me if you need to talk some more."

She was halfway to the elevator before it struck Callie that Arizona had called her by her full name.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Shonda owns all of them. I'm just playing around in their world. Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites!**

* * *

"I omitted a truth."

The clanking of the cafeteria tray on the table across fro m her is what startled Callie from her musings. "I'm sorry?"

Arizona took a deep breath and sat down. "I omitted a truth. When I said that I had lived with PTSD…yes, I lived with my brother while he was suffering with it, but I also personally have lived with it." At Callie's furrowed brow, the blonde continued, "I lost a leg. I was in a car accident many years ago—I took my eyes off the road for just a second and this truck came out of nowhere, and I wound up losing my leg. It was terrifying and I was angry and upset all the time. So, I just wanted to let you know, in the interest of our friendship getting off on the right foot, that I omitted a truth. _I've_ lived with PTSD."

The quiet at the table was very disconcerting for Arizona. Not being one to point out her own flaws, especially to such a beautiful woman, she was uneasy with the way the other doctor was staring at her without saying anything.

"Callie?"

A small smirk quirked the side of Callie's mouth. "You wanted to get our friendship off on _the right foot_ by telling me you _lost your leg_?"

"It's not—I didn't mean it like—" At the other woman's laughter, Arizona couldn't help but smile a little bit herself. "I made a pun. Is this what I have to look forward to in our friendship? I'll pour my heart out and you'll laugh at me?"

"I'm sorry. It just…I couldn't pass that one up, could I?"

Callie raised her eyebrows and waited for a response. "I set you up perfectly for that, I suppose."

"Seriously, Arizona, I appreciate it. Thank you for telling me. I'm honored you trust me that much without even knowing me."

"Well, I know things about you. People talk."

"That's…a really frightening thought, actually," Callie joked. At that moment, a third tray was plopped down on the table and Callie sat up a little straighter, recognizing the woman who Arizona had been having lunch with a few days earlier.

"They're invading, Zone! They've shipped over their most attractive doctors and now how am I supposed to get any work done at all?" Cynthia Rogers demanded while opening her cup of Jell-o.

Clearing her throat, Callie decided to introduce herself to the other doctor. "Hi, I don't think we've ever been introduced. I'm Callie Torres."

"I know who you are." Cynthia offered a smile while Arizona kicked her friend under the table. "I'm Cynthia Rogers, Ortho Attending." The two women shook hands.

"Cyn and I have been friends for a while. When I moved here, she took over the care of my prosthetics." Arizona offered.

"She knows?" Cynthia muttered to her friend before sinking low in her chair and trying to hide herself behind the blonde surgeon. "Dammit. They're everywhere."

Callie chuckled at the other woman's obvious distress. "Who's everywhere?" She glanced to the door of the cafeteria and was very surprised to see her own sister wandering in. Callie caught her eye and waved.

Eyes wide, Cynthia slapped Callie's hand down. "Don't do that!" Before Arizona could reprimand her friend, Aria stepped up to the table.

"Hey, Cal!"

Callie stood and hugged her sister. "Aria! What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?"

"You were right about the merge. Our team is being sent over first since your lab equipment is far superior to ours." Callie sat down and noticed Arizona looking at Aria with interest while Cynthia was looking everywhere else. "So five of us started here today and we're just getting set up. We're like a bunch of kids in a candy store up there. You were right, this hospital is top notch."

Smiling at her sister, Callie introduced her to the table. "Arizona, this is my little sister Aria. She's an Ortho resident at Seattle Pre—well, here now, I guess."

Arizona ignored the low groan from her friend and reached her hand out to Aria. "Pleasure. Arizona Robbins, Peds."

"I know who you are." Aria let the comment sit just a moment too long until she felt her sister squirm next to her. "My best friend is a Peds attending at Seattle Pres. We went to med school together and she's been following your career for a _very_ long time. I've heard a lot about you and it's a pleasure." Her eyes moved over to the last woman at the table. "Cynthia Rogers, right?"

Cynthia finally looked up and smiled weakly at the woman. "That's me. Nice to meet you, Dr. Torres."

With a glance at her sister, Aria said, "Better stick with Aria. Two Dr. Torres' in the same hospital will get a little confusing." Aria sent a quick wink to the other Ortho surgeon and turned back to her sister. "I'm just here to grab a bite and head back to the lab. I'll still be by around 6 tonight, okay?"

Callie nodded and took a deep breath. "Yeah. Thank you again."

"I noticed Owen was going to be in surgery until 7 or so. Want me to bring a bottle of wine over and we can chat before I take the kids?"

Smiling gratefully at her sister, Callie nodded again. "Sounds good. You're the best."

Aria smiled at the other two women and made her way to the cafeteria line.

Cynthia's head dropped down to the table and Arizona thought she heard her mutter, "Of course she's the woman's sister."

Arizona ignored her friend and turned to Callie. "Your sister seems really nice."

"She's pretty great. She didn't have an easy time growing up, but we're really close. I'd be lost without her, especially after the twins. I wonder how she's feeling about this whole thing, though. Last time we talked she really was not looking forward to working here."

Cynthia's head popped up. "Really? Do you think she'll leave? Do you think that she'll leave and take her friends with her?"

At Callie's furrowed brow, Arizona put her hand on her friend's arm to quiet her. "Cyn's just a little distracted by pretty people. Apparently all the doctors on the Seattle Pres Ortho team are very attractive."

"Preternaturally attractive," Cyn butts in.

Laughing, Callie brushes her off. "There's nothing supernatural about the team, as far as I know. But I suppose she does work with some rather attractive—Wait." She drops her fork to her plate. "Do you have the hots for my sister?"

Cynthia dropped her face into her hands, hiding from the other doctor. "I did basically just admit that out loud, huh?" She moved two fingers so she could look at Callie out of one eye. "To be fair, I have the hots for the people she works with too."

Arizona watched the entire exchange with interest.

"Huh."

Slowly taking her hands from her face, Cynthia asked, "Does she…play for that team?"

Callie took a deep breath. "Uh, yeah. I think so, I mean. We only—she never really tells me who she's dating. But yeah, she told me she's dated—you know—women…in the past."

Cynthia dropped her head to the table again as Arizona rubbed small circles on her back. "That's even worse!" Cynthia lamented.

"What?" Callie asked, totally at a loss.

Arizona finally piped up, "Now there's a chance. If she were straight, there's no chance and it's easier to write off the attraction." She held the brunette's gaze, "But when there's a chance…god, it makes it so much worse to live with. Until you know for sure, of course."

"Know what for sure?"

"That she likes you back."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: They belong to Shonda**

* * *

"You'll be home for dinner tonight, right?" Callie had finally tracked down her husband in the ER.

"I have surgery—"

"Until 7. I know. Just—come home after, okay?"

Owen hung his head, "Come on, Callie. You know how unpredictable our jobs are."

"I also know that department heads can clear their evening when they have to, Owen. Come home tonight. Aria is going to take the kids so we can talk." Callie tried to ignore the grimace that flashed across her husband's face.

"I'm supposed to talk to Teddy tonight, Cal. You know soldiers don't get a lot of computer time. Do you really want me to skip talking to Teddy?"

As Callie took a deep breath, contemplating her husband's words, she saw Arizona glance up from behind Owen with interest. Callie hadn't even noticed the blonde standing at the ER desk next to her husband.

"Teddy?" the blond piped in. "Sorry to eavesdrop, but that's not a very typical name. Teddy Altman, by any chance?"

Callie didn't miss how her husband's face paled. "You know Teddy?" he asked while shifting from one foot to the other.

"My brother and Teddy Altman served together. What a small world. Sh—"

"Fine." Owen spoke loudly and turned back to his wife. "I'll be home, okay? We'll talk."

Shooting an apologetic look at the peds surgeon, Callie tried to reprimand her husband, "Owen. That was rude."

"I said I'll be home." And before either woman could say another word, Owen stormed off in a huff.

Callie flashed an apologetic smile. "I am so sorry for him."

"I get it, remember?"

Nodding slightly, Callie continued, "What were you about to say? About Teddy?"

Arizona waved her hand in the air dismissively. "It was nothing important. Just that she's been at Thanksgiving dinner with my family a couple of times. She and Tim are pretty good friends."

Callie felt her world shift. "Oh."

Noting the pallor of her new friend, Arizona put a soft hand on Callie's arm. "Are you okay? What did I say? Did I put my foot in my mouth again?"

"He just—" Callie took a deep breath and looked down the hallway where her husband had just disappeared. "I didn't know Teddy was a woman." She offered Arizona a tight smile. "I have to go."

As Arizona watched Callie walk off, she noticed Cynthia come up next to her, shaking her head. "All these pretty people are going to be the death of us."

"No, Cyn. All these pretty _Torres_ _women_ will be the death of us."

* * *

It was 5:45 when Aria got to her sister's house and knocked on the door, which then flew open to reveal an exuberant little girl. "Tia 'Ria! Mami said we're having movie night at your place tonight! Are we?"

Aria shifted her bag and scooped the little girl up in her arms for a big hug. "We most certainly are, Little Bear. Me, you, your brothers, some popcorn, and…" she looked around as if sharing a very important secret, "I have some gummy bears in my purse."

Allegra's eyes got wide and she immediately tried to dive into her aunt's purse, but Aria was faster. "Not until we get the movie started, Little Bear! You know the rules!" She let the girl down and walked into the house, closing the door behind her. "Cal?" she called out.

"In the kitchen!" Aria heard her sister call from deeper in the house. Making her way towards the voice, Aria glanced at some of the photos up on the wall of her sister and her family. Aria knew Callie had always worn her heart on her sleeve and had felt a little confused about the path her sister's life had taken. Looking into the photos, she saw that Callie could always be seen absolutely beaming at her children, but she never had that same smile for her husband.

"Hey." Callie had just stepped into the hallway and was wiping her hands on a towel as she greeted her sister. "I hear tell that you have gummy bears for my children?"

Aria rolled her eyes and sent a mock glare to the girl who was hiding behind her mother. "That was a secret, Lil' B." Sweet giggles filled the air as Allegra ran off to her room.

"Dinner's all finished. Allegra has been instructed to work on her homework and read until you're ready to go. The boys are playing in the living room." She glanced at the large bag slung over her sister's shoulder. "Tell me you have a bottle of wine in there?"

Reaching into the bag, Aria produced a bottle of her sister's favorite wine. "A Torres always delivers on the wine." After a moment, she realized what she said and tried to backpedal, "Well…"

Callie reached out and took the bottle in one hand and grabbed her sister for a hug with the other arm. "You, Ariadne, are a Torres through and through. Come on in." Callie grabbed two wine glasses while Aria sat at the table. Pouring them each a large glass, Callie sat and let out a deep sigh.

"Please talk to me, Cit. What's going on?"

"Owen punched a window the other day. My resident, Christina Yang, um…tended to his wounds, I suppose." She breathed deeply. "He's not getting better."

"The PTSD."

"Yeah."

"Callie." Aria reached out and put her hand on her sister's arm. "What are you going to do?"

Taking a fortifying sip of the wine, Callie thought for a moment. "You know; I actually don't have a concrete plan. But we have to talk and I have to put my children first. He punched a window and it shattered, Aria. In the middle of a hospital. I can't take any chances."

Aria nodded slowly. "Cal, I know I told you that Seattle Pres was a big gossip hospital, but it's got _nothing_ on your place. I heard some things today about Owen and this Doctor Yang." Callie's eyes cut to her sister, so she continued. "Nothing overt. Nothing cut and dried. Just that they're close. Closer than…I don't know, closer than they should be."

Callie just shrugged. "I've been thinking about it a lot, you know. About what that means. For me, for Owen, for the marriage."

After a beat of silence, Aria prompted her sister, "And?"

"I don't care. It doesn't hurt. I don't feel betrayed. Hell, I'm almost relieved."

"Okay. Hey, that's a starting point, Callie. You realize that, right?"

"I think so. My friend—Dr. Shepherd, you'll meet her—her marriage seems to be ending and she said it doesn't hurt. That she's not upset." She was quiet for a moment. "That it feels good. Does that sound strange to you?"

Aria thought about it and took a sip of her wine. "No. Callie, can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"I adore you. I've looked up to you since I was a little girl. I have been in awe of everything about you. Your intellect, your humor, your attitude. All I ever wanted in my life was to be _just_ like my big sister one day. And I've watched you go through your life and I've seen you _so, so_ happy—the day you graduated from med school you just had the _biggest_ smile on your face. And you had it again when you got through your intern year, passing your exams with flying colors. God, it was even bigger in the first picture you ever sent me after you had Allegra and it was just that little tiny baby in your arms and you. I saw that same smile after Andy and Sam were born. You wore it when you came to _my_ med school graduation, and I know you'll never admit it, but the day I moved to Seattle you had it too." Aria waits a beat, knowing this next part is going to be difficult. "But you never had it for Owen. Not when you first told me about him, not when you married him, and never once since then. Not _that_ smile. And you've changed from the carefree woman that I knew into his wife." She held up a hand to stop any protests, "Not that she's not still in there. You're still just as amazing and I love you as much as I always have. But you're different with him, and it's not just since he came back. It's from day one. He dimmed you, Callie. You don't deserve to be dimmed."

Callie sniffed and looked up to the ceiling to try to keep the tears from falling. She could feel Aria's hand rubbing her arm and hear the comforting sounds of her two little boys playing in the living room. "Teddy is a woman."

"Teddy…Owen's army buddy?"

"That's her."

"How did you find that out?"

"Dr. Robbins told me. Apparently her brother is good friends with Teddy too."

"Okay, we'll circle back around to the Dr. Robbins thing. Are you okay? About Teddy?"

"I only feel stupid."

Aria crinkled her nose. "No Torres deals well with feeling stupid."

After letting out a small laugh, Callie shook her head. "No; that's the truth. But that's all I feel about it. I don't—again—I don't feel betrayed or mad. Just stupid." She looked her sister in the eye and admitted a hard truth, "I don't care about him anymore, Cat. I don't care what he does or who he's with outside of the realm of him being the father of my children."

Both women looked up guiltily when they heard a key in the front door before they heard Owen in the next room saying hello to his boys. He walked into the kitchen with Andy on his hip and a weary expression on his face.

"We lost him, so I'm home early."

The sisters exchanged a glance, both understanding how hard it can be on a surgeon to lose a long-time patient. Aria piped up, "Why don't you spend a couple minutes with the kids and decompress? Then I'll get us all out of your hair."

Owen looked at Aria with an expression that was almost grateful before turning around and heading back into the living room. They heard him talking with the boys about their day and then they heard Allegra's little voice join in.

"Are you going to be okay, Cal? Tonight, I mean?"

Callie nodded and finished her wine, grabbing both glasses and moving them to the sink. "I will be. Although I'm keeping _this_ for later," she smiled, picking up the wine bottle and corking it.

"Fair enough." Aria stood and gave her sister a big hug. "I'll bring the kids to daycare tomorrow morning, okay? Don't worry about a thing. And if you need me, just give me a call. I love you."

Taking some extra strength and confidence from the hug of her sister, Callie finally pulled back. "I love you too. I don't know what I'd do without you. Let's go round up the troops."

Twenty minutes later, Callie was standing on the front porch, waving to her children as she watched her sister's tail lights disappear at the end of the block. Her husband was next to her, standing close, but not touching. Finally, she looked up at him and turned back inside. Leading Owen into the living room, Callie sat on the sofa and gestured for him to do the same.

"Well."

* * *

 **AN: Next chapter will be the big talk and the fallout. Let me know what you thought!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry this took so long! As always, they're Shonda's creations. I'm just playing around with them.**

* * *

 _Twenty minutes later, Callie was standing on the front porch, waving to her children as she watched her sister's tail lights disappear at the end of the block. Her husband was next to her, standing close, but not touching. Finally, she looked up at him and turned back inside. Leading Owen into the living room, Callie sat on the sofa and gestured for him to do the same._

" _Well."_

Owen sat down with a huff and turned to look at his wife. "Callie—"

She held up a hand to cut him off. "Wait. I need to say some things here and I need to say them fast." She waited for her husband to nod before going any further. "I'm worried, Owen. I am so worried every single day about you and about our children and about your patients and about the hospital. I'm worried when I wake up in the morning. It's my default mood these days. And I know, _I know_ , what's happening in your head is absolutely terrible. I know that. But this isn't what I want."

"You think _I_ want—"

"Please, Owen."

He shook his head and stared resolutely at the floor.

"Think about it, Owen. When we first met…when we were dating…do you really think we were in love?"

"We have a family together, Callie!"

"I know. We have a beautiful family. No one is denying that. But…did you _really_ love me?"

He sighed and looked up into his wife's eyes and saw only open honesty. "I don't understand what you're asking."

Callie let out a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her face. "I've been thinking about it for a long time. What we were like. Who we were as people back then, what we wanted..."

"And?" Owen prompted when it was clear the woman had gotten lost in her own thoughts.

"And we both wanted a family, Owen. We both wanted children."

"We have children, Callie."

"I know. I'm saying we didn't want _each other_."

* * *

"What do you think the pretty Seattle Pres people are doing right now?" Cynthia looked up at her friend from where her head was resting on the bar at Joe's after a long day.

"Well, we know one of them is watching Calliope's kids so she can have a talk with her husband."

"Yeah." Cynthia downed her shot and winced. "That sounds…serious."

Sipping her wine, knowing that she was going to be the one responsible for getting her friend home safely tonight, Arizona answered, "Definitely serious."

"Do you think they're breaking up?" Her eyes got wide. "Do you think she's going to break up with her husband and run into your arms and then convince her sister to date me and we all have one big sex orgy?"

"Cyn…that's gross. You've got two sisters in your orgy."

Cynthia wrinkled her nose. "Ew. Let's just have sex separately then."

"I should be cutting you off, you know that?"

Cynthia grabbed her glass of beer and hugged it protectively to her chest.

* * *

"We were comfortable, Owen. We were never madly, passionately in love. We were both sad about breakups and desperately wanting to settle down and have kids. We were rebounding and I think we're both too stubborn to have seen it that way."

"You're calling our family a mistake?"

"Please, Owen. I know this is hard. But I want what's best for everyone. For you too. Are you happy? Here, with me…are you happy? Do I make you happy?"

Owen was up and pacing the length of the living room. "Our children—"

"No, not our children, Owen." Callie stood and stepped in front of her husband. "Me. Do _I_ make you happy?"

He stopped and looked at his wife. _Really_ looked at her for the first time in what felt like ages. He contemplated what she was saying. Was he happy? No was the short answer. He barely even remembered what happy felt like. "Maybe…maybe I could go get help? We'll put everything on hold and I can…"

"I'm sorry, Owen. I can't wait."

* * *

"Tia 'Ria?" a sleepy voice broke through Aria's thoughts and she turned to see her niece rubbing her eyes and standing in the kitchen doorway.

"I thought you were sleeping, Lil' Bear."

"I woke up."

Aria smiled and went to the little girl, picking her up in her arms and sitting her on the counter so they could talk while Aria finished washing dishes from their movie night.

"The boys are still sleeping?"

Allegra nodded her head and stared down at her knees in deep thought.

"What are you thinking about, Allie?"

The girl's head finally rose to meet her aunt's gaze. "Mami and Daddy fight a lot."

Blowing out a deep breath, Aria stopped what she was doing and leaned back on the counter across from the little girl. Obviously this was about to be a big discussion. "Yeah, they do, don't they?" Aria wrinkled her nose. "That must not be much fun for you, huh?"

Allegra shook her head and started playing with the hem of her dress. "Did I do something wrong? Did Sam or Andy?"

"Nope." Aria didn't let herself have a single moment of hesitation before she answered. "You guys are terrific kids. You and your brothers are totally awesome and your Mami and Daddy love you guys sooooooo much."

"To the moon and back."

Aria recognized the phrase that she had heard Callie recite to the children on a daily basis. "That's right." She paused to let the little girl guide the conversation.

"But if we didn't do anything wrong…why are they fighting?"

Shifting to sit next to the girl on the counter, Aria thought hard. "Well, you know your friend from school, Sofia?"

Allegra nodded.

"You two used to be inseparable, right? And then she started playing with those My Little Pony dolls, but you didn't like them so you two stopped playing together. You guys just…liked different things. Maybe it's something like that with your Mami and Daddy. What do you think?"

The little girls scrunched her face up, trying to make sense of it. "Maybe."

* * *

Owen dropped down to the couch and hung his head. "I'm so tired of fighting."

"Me too." Callie perched herself on the arm of the chair across from him. "And when we're together that's all we seem to be capable of doing."

"So the only logical conclusion is…" The silence weighed down heavily around the married couple.

"I know; I don't want to say it either."

Gazing at each other, Owen finally stood and took the few steps over to his wife and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "You're an incredible person, Callie. A phenomenal mother and a true joy."

Callie blinked back tears at the kind words. "You're so strong, Owen. I've always been so proud of what you've done. And I know you can keep doing incredible things."

"Just not here."

"You need help."

"Yeah."

* * *

"Okay, but like, it's not just Little Torres that's got me all flustered."

"Little Torres?"

"Yeah, Little Torres. The younger one. Little." Cynthia held up her hand, fingers about an inch apart. "Like if you and I were sisters, I'd be Little Robbins."

"We're the same age. Your birthday is a month before mine."

"Then _you're_ Little Robbins." Taking a swig of her drink, the inebriated woman continued, "Anyway, it's not just her. It's all of them. How did they manage to staff an entire department with models, Zone? How did they do it?"

Arizona waited for her friend to continue before realizing that she actually wanted an answer. "An…ad in the newspaper, I suppose."

"Of course." Cynthia hit herself on the head. "I should have thought of that. I went into the lab today and almost knocked over an entire tray of instruments! It was just, like, one right after the other. Pretty, prettier, and prettiest. But then you look back at pretty and realize that pretty is even prettier than prettiest!"

Laughing into her soda, Arizona scoffed at her friend. "You're just horny."

"Says the woman in love with the pretty married lady."

"Shut up."

* * *

"So…this is it? We end it?"

Callie sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "You know, after all the fighting and tumultuous moments in our marriage, I expected the end to be bigger, you know? Larger than life. But this…this is just small and quiet, isn't it?"

"In like a lion, out like a lamb."

"You're going to get help?"

Owen looked up at the ceiling and tensed his jaw. "I'm going to get help. I'll go—uh, I'll go stay with my mom tonight. Until we figure out where to go from here."

Slowly, Callie nodded. "Aria's dropping the kids off at daycare tomorrow morning. We should figure out when we can go talk to them. We should do it together."

"Yeah. Definitely."

* * *

"My friend Angela in the daycare? Her mommy and daddy don't live in the same house."

Aria took a deep breath. Kids were way smarter than she ever gave them credit for. "Is that so? What do you think about that?"

The little girl shrugged and crawled into her aunt's lap. They had moved from the counter and now were sitting on the floor in Aria's kitchen. "Angela said they don't fight anymore. They used to, but now they live in two different places and she goes to visit them both on different days. She said they haven't fought in a long time."

Pushing back Allegra's hair, Aria tried to get a read on the girl. "That sounds…kind of nice, I think."

"Yeah, Tia. I think so too."

* * *

Arizona was in the middle of trying to convince her friend to switch to water when Cynthia's eyes got wide and she stared at a spot past Arizona. Getting fed up with her friend, Arizona turned around and saw none other than Callie Torres walk into the bar and sit in front of Joe. There were only a handful of seats between the two women. "Oh, shit."

"Zone! She's here!" Cynthia fake-whispered.

"Hush. You're drunk and you're going to get me in trouble." Feeling her friend poking her finger into her side, Arizona sighed and started back at Cynthia. "What?"

"Go talk to her!"

"She doesn't really look like she's in the mood to talk, Cyn."

Just then, the two women heard a voice behind them that made them look up guiltily. "Dr. Robbins. Dr. Rogers. Hello."

Cynthia spun around with a big smile on her face and almost fell off her bar stool. "Dr. Torres! Hello. Hi. Hey. How are you?"

"She's drunk," Arizona unnecessarily clarified.

"Very," Cynthia agreed in a serious tone.

Callie let out a small smile. "Well, I saw you both over here and I didn't want to be rude. I'm just going to get a quick drink and head home. Long day, you know."

"Of course. It was good to see you, Callie," Arizona said, trying to let the other woman get back to her drink that Joe had just placed on the bar.

"Drink with us!"

"Cynthia! Stop it now!" Arizona hissed at the other woman.

"Oh, no, I couldn't. I don't want to intrude on what looks like a very fun ladies night."

"It's always more fun with an extra pretty lady." Cynthia's eyes lit up, "Zone! Look!" She pointed at herself and the two other women in turn, "Pretty…prettier…prettiest!"

"Oh my god." Arizona tried to hide her face in her hands but stopped when she heard Callie chuckling. It really did look like the women needed a friend tonight, and she could be that friend, right? She had offered friendship and had been pretty insistent about it, after all. She could keep her libido in check for one evening. "You wouldn't be intruding. I'd like the company." She quickly tried to correct herself, " _We'd_ like the company."

Looking around the bar, Callie made a quick decision. "Then yes. Let me join you two."


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I'm so sorry about the delay in getting this chapter written! I know it's been forever. Sorry! Anyway, as always, they aren't mine but I'm playing with them anyway. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

* * *

It was an hour later when Arizona realized that she was going to be responsible for getting not one, but two drunk surgeons home safely at the end of the night.

"No! That's not-! You're doing it wrong," Callie grumbled at the Ortho attending who was sitting next to her. "If you're going to shoot tequila, you have to shoot tequila _correctly_."

Cynthia threw her hands up in frustration. "I didn't want to shoot tequila in the first place! I ordered a shot of Rumchata," she pronounced the word slowly and carefully, "but then you had to go overpower me with the bartender because of your wild good looks—"

Arizona blew out a puff of air and attempted to smack her drunk friend, but she knew it was a fruitless endeavor if the past 60 minutes were anything to go off of.

"Wait! Wait a minute!" Callie blinked a few times, collecting her swimming thoughts. "First of all, 'wild good looks' are not something I am in possession of. And secondly, the bartender is a lady, so how would I use my looks on her at all?"

The other two women at the table stared at Callie meaningfully.

"Oh. Is she—? I mean…does she like…?"

Arizona and Cynthia both nodded.

"You people are everywhere!" Callie grabbed Cynthia's shot and downed it in one quick swallow. She slammed the glass back on the table and rubbed her face.

Arizona saw the slow, evil smile spread across Cynthia's face and her eyes got wide. She tried to stop her friend from speaking, but again…fruitless.

"So, Call-i-o-pe Torres, are you telling me you've never been with a woman?"

Slowly, Callie's hands fell from her face. "Don't call me that."

Rolling her eyes, Cynthia tried again. "Dr. Torres. In the most professional capacity, I must ask you if you have ever laid with a woman as one lays with a man?"

Callie's eyes got wide and she leaned across the table to whisper, "Have _you_ ever laid with a man?"

"Oh my god," Arizona muttered. "I will have no part of this. I'm going to the bathroom. Be good." She caught the bartender's eye and silently asked her to keep an eye on her friends while she was gone before walking away.

Cynthia nodded enthusiastically. "I have. Men are great. They're all hard muscles and sharp edges. Even the bigger ones—you can still feel it in them. Men are awesome. And women are just terrific. Soft and smooth and gentle. Everything is different, but it's all great." Her eyes unfocused and Cynthia started to get lost in her own thoughts. "So good."

"Then you're…bisexual?"

"Card carrying!

"When did you— How did you—" Callie trailed off, feeling foolish.

"Hey. Dr. Torres."

Callie laughed. "You _can_ call me Callie."

"Callie. Cal. The Cal-ster. California. Listen. Everybody's different. And with bisexuality…it's different too. It's not easy. We're the…the mythical creatures of the LGBT spectrum. Lesbians don't believe in us. Gay men don't believe in us. Straight people don't believe in us. But feelings are feelings. And if you know, then you know."

"My sister told me she's bi. I didn't react well."

Cynthia grabbed the other woman's hand and pulled her in, whispering intently. "I gotta ask again. Have you ever been with a woman?"

"No!" Callie pulled her hand back quickly and took a deep breath. "Well, not exactly."

Just then, Arizona returned to the table with two glasses of water and plunked them down in front of the women. "Drink up, ladies. No more alcohol until the water in both glasses is gone."

"Zone!" Cynthia whined. "We were just getting to the good stuff!"

Callie grabbed her glass of water like it was a lifeline. "Actually, I should stick to water now. I have rounds in the morning. And I have to figure out what to tell my kids."

Eyes wide, Arizona let the words sit for a minute. They hadn't talked about what had happened tonight. She didn't want to push and the other woman didn't seem to want to talk. They had treated the subject of Owen and the kids as taboo and not one word had been spoken about any of them. Slowly, she reached out a hand and put it on Callie's arm. "Kids are resilient," she offered.

"Kids are happiest when their parents are happy," said the drunk Ortho surgeon. "I know from experience."

Callie blinked at the other two women and took a small sip of water. "It's that obvious what happened, huh?"

"We're just guessing," Arizona gave Callie's arm a little squeeze, willing herself to remember to be the woman's friend. "But you seemed a little down when you came in here and well, I overheard you with Owen earlier, remember? About needing to talk?"

Hanging her head, Callie blew out a deep breath. "It's over. Owen and I…we're done."

Cynthia grabbed her glass of water and stared down into it. "Hey, Zone?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm too drunk for a serious conversation. This one is all on you."

Callie looked up at the two women sitting across from her and let out a loud laugh. "You two are…just great. Thank you guys. For tonight. For being…just for being cool, I guess." She leaned over to whisper to Cynthia, "I'm drunk too."

Arizona stood up and clapped her hands. "Alright, ladies. I think the night is just about over. Finish your waters, get your coats, and I'll settle our tab. I'm driving you both home; no arguing." She walked over to the bar to pay the hefty bill as the other two women stood on shaky legs to put their coats on.

"In college," Callie blurted with no preamble.

A sly smile spread across Cynthia's face, "I knew it!"

Callie shushed the other woman and glanced around the bar. "I didn't sleep with her, but I wanted to, I think. We…fooled around. Experimented, I guess."

Doing a little victory dance, Cynthia just about fell over trying to put her coat on. "I flipping knew it. You're too hot to only let the boys play."

"Just…don't tell anyone, okay?"

Just then, Arizona returned and immediately helped Cynthia readjust her coat and actually get it on. "Ready, ladies? One rule—no throwing up in my car."

Callie nodded and Cynthia rolled her eyes. Arizona lead them out of the bar and out into the parking lot, all three of them enjoying the cool air on their faces. Cynthia dropped back to walk next to Callie and looped her arm through hers. "Listen, California. If you need to talk—sober—about any of this… Anything at all. Your sister or…you know…just general questions…bisexuality, children of divorce, lady loving…whatever, you come find me, okay? I really don't mind talking about it."

Smiling at her new friend, Callie nodded. "Thanks, Cynthia. I just might."

Arizona held the car door open for both women in turn—Cynthia in the front seat and Callie settled in the back. She slowly pulled out of the parking lot and glanced in the rearview mirror at Callie who seemed lost in her thoughts.

"Hey, Callie? You okay?"

Startling, Callie looked up at Arizona and nodded before realizing the other woman couldn't really see her. "Just…sad. My poor kids."

"Poor you," Cynthia mumbled, trying to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in.

"I'm okay. It's been a long time coming, I think. It hasn't been great—with Owen. And I can't even remember the last time we had sex. And he's never really home when I am anyway. This actually isn't going to be that much of a change for me. Huh."

Cynthia whipped around, almost strangling herself on the seatbelt. "No sex?! I'm glad you got out. No one needs to live like that!"

Smacking her friend on the back, Arizona shoved Cynthia back into a proper position. "We're talking about the children right now, Cynthia. Be good and shut up. Serious conversations aren't your forte right now, remember?"

Cynthia mimed locking her mouth with a key and looked sheepish.

"Kids really are resilient, Calliope. They can handle much more than almost anyone gives them credit for. I'm sure they see what's happening at home. And Cynthia was right, they're going to be happiest when they know Mommy and Daddy are happy too."

Callie nodded slowly as they pulled into Cynthia's apartment complex. "You're probably right. I just worry. My parents are still together, you know. My life would have been so different if they hadn't. They could have split. Well, not really because…Catholic. But they could have and I wouldn't have a sister. My life would have been so different. Did I just screw up my childrens' lives?"

Pulling into a parking spot and turning off the car, Arizona took off her seatbelt and turned in her seat to look at Callie. "You didn't. Absolutely not. You did the right thing because you deserve to be happy, Callie. Your children are still going to grow up with both their Mommy and Daddy around. Those kids aren't going to want for anything. I've seen you both with them—they're so loved and so lucky. That isn't going away, alright?"

"Okay."

"Now, I'm going to drag this one up to her apartment and I'll be right back. Stay here, Calliope. I'll be back in a minute."

After struggling to get a very sleepy Cynthia out of the car, Arizona started to drag her toward the apartment door, but she broke away and went back to the car to lean in the window to speak softly to Callie. "Hey, California. Why can she call you Calliope and I can't?"

A soft, slow smile spread across Callie's face. "I guess…I just like it when she says it."

Arizona grabbed the back of Cynthia's jacket and pulled her away as Cynthia continued yelling, "I flipping knew it! I flipping _knew_ it!"


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I know, it's been forever! I'm sorry. And this one is a shorter chapter, but I hope you enjoy! As always, they belong to Shonda. I'm just putting words in their mouths.**

* * *

 _Callie nodded slowly as they pulled into Cynthia's apartment complex. "You're probably right. I just worry. My parents are still together, you know. My life would have been so different if they hadn't. They could have split. Well, not really because…Catholic. But they could have and I wouldn't have a sister. My life would have been so different. Did I just screw up my childrens' lives?"_

 _Pulling into a parking spot and turning off the car, Arizona took off her seat-belt and turned in her seat to look at Callie. "You didn't. Absolutely not. You did the right thing because you deserve to be happy, Callie. Your children are still going to grow up with both their Mommy and Daddy around. Those kids aren't going to want for anything. I've seen you both with them—they're so loved and so lucky. That isn't going away, alright?"_

 _"Okay."_

 _"Now, I'm going to drag this one up to her apartment and I'll be right back. Stay here, Calliope. I'll be back in a minute."_

 _After struggling to get a very sleepy Cynthia out of the car, Arizona started to drag her toward the apartment door, but she broke away and went back to the car to lean in the window to speak softly to Callie. "Hey, California. Why can she call you Calliope and I can't?"_

 _A soft, slow smile spread across Callie's face. "I guess…I just like it when she says it."_

 _Arizona grabbed the back of Cynthia's jacket and pulled her away as Cynthia continued yelling, "I flipping knew it! I flipping knew it!"_

* * *

Arizona got back to her car and was thrilled to see the Callie had moved into the front seat. The woman had a melancholy look on her face and while Arizona felt her heart squeeze in sympathy for her, she couldn't deny that she was also a little excited to get some private time with the woman she'd become so enamored with, even if it was just under the guise of being friends.

Opening the car door, Arizona felt bad when Callie jumped a little in her seat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, Calliope."

"No, that's…that's okay. I was just lost in my thoughts, I guess."

Arizona nodded and buckled her seat-belt before starting the car up again and putting it in gear. "So, where am I heading?"

Dropping her head back against the headrest, Callie groaned. "I don't want to go home. Is that terrible? I'm not sad or upset or mad…I just had this life planned out for myself, you know? And it was all in that house. Husband, kids…and none of that is waiting for me at home right now."

Staying quiet for a few moments, Arizona finally offered, "I could take you to your sister's place? Your kids are there, right?"

"I don't want them to see me like this. And I think Owen and I should be a united front, right? When we tell them?" For the first time since the other woman had entered the car, Callie looked up at Arizona. "What do you think?"

"I'm not much of an expert, Calliope."

"You're a pediatric surgeon."

"Yeah. Big surgeries on little people. I don't spend much time on their mental health. That's not my specialty."

Callie blew out a breath in frustration. "But you do, though! I've seen you. You talk to the kids and make them feel safe and explain things to them that their parents would never think to include them in. You care like crazy. You fought me tooth and nail on the lung kid and that wasn't just a professional opinion for you—you were worried about _him_. About the kid."

Putting the car back into park, Arizona turned in her seat to fully face Callie. "Okay. Yes, I think you should be a united front when you tell them. Kids are smart, but they're also sensitive. The more that it seems like nothing is going to change in the big picture, the better it will be for them. It's going to be weird. It's going to take a lot of time for them to understand the new rules of their life. But you know something? Everyone is going to be okay."

Callie's face started to crumple and Arizona reached out to grab her hand without thinking. "Oh, no! I didn't want to make you cry. Please stop crying, Calliope."

Brushing an escaped tear away with her free hand, Callie shook her head. "No, I just needed someone to say that. I needed to hear it."

Squeezing the hand in hers, Arizona leaned back into her seat. "It's true. Everyone is going to be okay. You did the right thing. Tonight, you grieve for what you're losing. Tomorrow you figure out what to do next. Okay?"

"Okay." Callie sniffled and shifted in her seat. Looking down at their still-clasped hands, Callie slowly pulled away. "I'm sorry. You wanted a fun night out with your friend and instead you had to babysit two drunk women and deal with me crying in your car. This isn't what you wanted from your evening, I'm sure."

"Hey. You're my friend, remember? So I'm here." Slowly so as not to startle the other woman, Arizona reached over and brushed a strand of hair behind Callie's ear. She prayed that Callie couldn't feel her hand shaking as she did so. "There's nowhere I'd rather be. But I do have early rounds tomorrow and I think you said you did too, so where should we head next?"

"Home is going to be so lonely tonight."

Arizona nodded. "It will be. But you're strong and really tough. You're going to be okay."

Looking out the window, Callie shook her head. "Go left on Elm. I'll direct you from there."

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, the women pulled up in front of Callie's house. Callie took off her seat-belt and shifted in her seat so she could look at Arizona. "Thank you." She paused. "Thank you for rescuing me tonight. I was going to wallow, but you stopped me. Thank you for that."

"You're welcome, Calliope. Come on, I'll walk you up." Arizona slipped out of her seat-belt and stepped out of the car, waiting for Callie to join her as they walked up the pathway to the front door.

"You don't have to walk me to my door, you know."

"Just doing my duties as the designated driver. Once that door closes behind you, you're your own problem," Arizona smiled to soften her words.

"I sure am. Anyway, it's a very gentlemanly thing of you to do…or not _gentlemanly_ …but…"

Bumping the taller woman's shoulder with her own, Arizona cut her off. "I don't mind gentlemanly. My brother was raised to treat a woman right and he taught me everything I know."

Callie stopped at the front door and leaned back on the railing. "Your parents don't know? That you're…"

"Gay?" Arizona leaned against the other railing to face Callie. "They know. Now. I was never really interested in boys. It wasn't a surprise to them when I brought home someone named Joanne. But still, I told Tim first and he was my rock. A total jerk, but he took me under his wing."

"I always was."

Arizona shook her head. "Was what?"

"Interested in boys."

A slow smile spreading across her face, Arizona joked, "That's okay too."

Callie laughed and dropped her head. "I just meant…I don't know. Things feel different now. You know what?" Callie looked up at the other woman. "I'm drunk. I don't know what I'm saying. It's late. You have rounds. I'm going to let you go."

Reaching into her pocket to pull out her keys, Callie stepped to her front door just as Arizona stood, bringing them into very close proximity. "Callie? Those things? _They're_ okay too." She pulled the uncomfortable cardio doctor into a brief hug and then placed a hand on her cheek. "Everything is going to be okay."

Searching the shorter woman's face, Callie just nodded.

"I'll see you around, Calliope. Drink some water before bed tonight."

"Goodnight, Arizona."

Callie stood and watched as the other woman got into her car and drove off, leaning back against the door to take a deep breath before letting herself inside.


End file.
